This disclosure relates to a quick disconnect valve assembly and, more particularly, to a quick disconnect valve that facilitates maintaining a connection to a life support suit.
Quick disconnect valves allow for fluid flow lines to quickly couple and de-couple. Quick disconnect valves include simple hydraulic fittings, face seal fittings, and flared fittings. In general, quick disconnect valves incorporate a spring-loaded poppet valve on each connector half to stop the fluid from flowing when the two halves are separated. When the two connector halves are pushed together, the spring-loaded poppet valves move against the bias force of the spring from the sealed position to an open flow position.
A drawback to using spring-loaded poppet valves is that the spring-loaded poppet valves require a relatively large package envelope for the valves, the seals, and the spring assemblies. Therefore, the diameter of the fluid flow path through a typical spring-loaded poppet valve is much smaller than the overall diameter of the connector. Furthermore, assembly of the valve halves requires a relatively large force to overcome the spring force of the spring-loaded poppet valves. Finally, the use of the spring-loaded poppet valves causes a relatively large pressure drop between the valve halves for a given size and flow rate, when compared to a similarly sized unobstructed flow path.